We noticed something interesting while checking out the Amex website early this morning: all but one of the cobranded Delta SkyMiles® American Express Cards just hiked up their annual fees.
There are interesting new features and, of course, an array of statement credit opportunities (read: “coupons”) added to the suite of Delta Amexes. Let’s take a look.
Annual Fee Jumps
Let’s rip off the bandages.
Both the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card and Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card now carry annual fees of $650 annual fee each. Those are $100 increases from $550.
- For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, please visit this link.
- For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card, please visit this link.
The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card and Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card also jumped $100 each. Their annual fees are now $350 (up from $250).
- For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, please visit this link.
- For rates and fees of Delta SkyMiles® Business Platinum American Express Card, please visit this link.
The Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card and Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card still offer a $0 introductory annual fee for the first year. Starting year two, it’s $150 (an increase from $99).
What’s Different About the Cards?
There are all sorts of added features to the cards. We already knew about some of them — such as $2,500 “MQD Headstarts” for the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card, Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, and Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card
We also knew the Reserves earn $1 MQD for each $10 spent on eligible purchases. The Platinums earn $1 for every $20 spent.
What new features did we discover?
Upgrade Eligibility for Delta Platinum Cards
Non-Medallion status SkyMiles members holding the the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card and Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card products have been eligible to receive upgrades to Delta One (in the U.S.), First Class, and Comfort+ for a while.
That benefit is now extended to Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card and Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card members for tickets purchased on or after February 1, 2024.
I guess that’s some consolation for Sky Club access getting yanked. But I wouldn’t exactly have my heart set on enjoying a ton of upgrades. Keep in mind that you’re probably last in line — and that assumes the gate agents even bother clearing upgrades.
More Sky Club Guest Passes
The Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card and Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card members will now receive four (4) complimentary guest passes for Delta Sky Clubs. This is an improvement from two. This alone covers the $100 increase, given that guest admission is $50 a pop.
Existing cardholders: my guess is that this particular benefit will kick in starting when your card is billed the updated annual fee.
A New Points-Earning Category for the Delta Business Reserve!
There’s a new kid on the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card block! The card earned 3X on Delta purchases, 1.5X on purchases after you spend $150,000 during a calendar year, and 1X on everything else.
Up until yesterday!
Introducing bonuses for spending on
- Transit
- Eligible U.S. shipping purchases
- Eligible U.S. office supply store purchases
Those now earn 1.5X — a 50% leap from 1X! 🙂
Delta Stays Statement Credit
Each of the above cards is also eligible for annual statement credits toward booking prepaid hotels or vacation rentals on the card through Delta Stays on delta.com
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card: up to $200 each year
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card: up to $250 each year
- Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card: up to $150 each year
- Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card: up to $200 each year
- Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card: up to $100 each year
- Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card: up to $150 each year
Delta’s giving a little extra incentive to the small business cards on this one, as opposed to their consumer/personal counterparts.
Expanded Companion Certificate Destinations
Cardholders of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card, Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, and Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card all receive annual one-time Companion Certificates (buy-one-get-one) starting year two of membership.
It used to be that those could only be used for travel in the U.S. 48. But now you can travel to many more places. The official list includes:
- United States
- Antigua
- Aruba
- Belize
- Bermuda
- Bonaire
- Bahamas
- Cuba
- Dominican Republic
- Puerto Rico
- USVI
- Mexico
- Grand Cayman
- Jamaica
- Turks and Caicos
- Saint Kitts
- St. Maarten
- St. Lucia
- Costa Rica
- Guatemala
- Panama
- Honduras
- El Salvador
I didn’t see any language restriction flights to Hawaii or Alaska. So, that’s a significant improvement there.
Rideshare Credits
The Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card, Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, and Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card all feature this new benefit.
Earn up to $10 in statement credits each month (up to $120 annually) on U.S. rideshare purchases made with Uber, Lyft, Curb, Revel, and Alto. Enrollment is required and terms apply.
Resy Credits
Online restaurant reservation platform Resy already has various partnerships and promotions with a few Amex cards — and now it’s extending to the Delta Platinums and Reserves.
The Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card and Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card each earn up to $240 each year in statement credits for purchases made with Resy. Of course, it’s doled out each month: you can earn back up to $20 monthly.
The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card and Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card can earn up to $10 back for Resy purchases each month, up to $120 annually.
Terms apply and enrollment is required.
I haven’t jumped on the Resy bandwagon yet. What do you think about it? I’d love to hear your takes.
Hertz Status
I can hear the laughter over this one.
- “I already have Hertz status through another card!”
- “My Medallion status gives me Hertz status!
- “I don’t want to go to prison because I rented from Hertz!“
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card and Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card members can automatically get complimentary Hertz President’s Circle Status.
Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, and Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card holders can take advantage of complimentary Hertz Five Star Status.
Everything Else Stays
From what we could tell, no benefits were taken away — at least those that weren’t already announced — from the cards.
We plan to offer up a little analysis of the changes in a day or so.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, please visit this link.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card, please visit this link.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, please visit this link.
For rates and fees of Delta SkyMiles® Business Platinum American Express Card, please visit this link.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card, please visit this link.
For rates and fees of Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card, please visit this link.
Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
Just got an email about this. Thanks for the heads up. For the Reserve card, in addition to the benefits you’ve mentioned, there’s also a one time $100 flight credit, and a one time $1000 MQD bonus, in addition to the previously announced $2500 MQD bonus.
Ya gotta admit they’ve got some pair over there at Delta. So, now the Reserve goes up to $650 and you still get a measly 15 SC visits? The Delta Stays benefit is a specious one at best. Not using that. The extra-two Guest Passes are worthless. I never use the two I get now. The Companion Ticket is still not getting you to Europe so – for me – means nothing.
Gotta admit…I made the right call. Picked up the United Infinite Card at $525.00. Gives me AND a guest unlimited club access and Premier Access at the airport. My Reserve card renews in October and I’ll downgrade it to Gold for the off-chance I ever fly Delta again.
Yeah dont forget the $100 flight credit and additional $1K MQD bonus – those are pretty big
Those weren’t on the website — just the email that came in several hours after I wrote the post 🙂
With the reserve card can you use the guest passes for yourself after you have used your allotted 15 visits?
@BA – No. You must present Reserve card to use the guest pass (for your guest).
I downgraded from platinum to gold. Now I see this. Really worthless all around. I see no benefit. I’m stuck because slc is my airport and it’s a Delta hub.
Every year I save $1000-1500 using the first class companion upgrade certificate. So much so my wife now also has her card and we use that one too. Everything else is just extra benefits. I have signed up for RESY offer, but will likely only be able to use it when traveling. No restaurants in either my Michigan home (Grand Rapids) nor my Florida home (Clearwater). Looking forward to Miami in March though.
Ho hum. Usual crap. Reserve goes up $100 and we get some dubious credits, bumps and crumbs. The companion outside the 48, ok but can you use it given the meager availability? The restrictions on SK have drive me out. Used the last of credits and switching to AS, downgrading the card or dumping and going the free agent route. No more chasing status for the “right” to pay $650! To AX/DL. Say good bye Delta to my 15K flight spend and 30K card spend.
Good luck using the companion fare. I’m fifty percent over the past four years. Yeah you can use it to Hawaii, but they’re subject to limited seat allotments.
Not impressed with the changes –especially the renewal fee increase.. It is hard enough or almost impossible to use the companion tickets now.. doubt the added places will help!
$650 AF and still no unlimited SkyClub visits. Total travesty.
Also, Amex clearly has a bias against their cardmembers who don’t live in large metropolitan cities, with useless benefits to them, such as Resy. Or Equinox. Or the (extinct) WeWork benefit.
I wonder if the hotel credits are effectively immediately or do they kick in only after the renewal?
I didn’t see anything in the terms that exclude it from existing cardholders.
Any idea if we can use the Resy credit on multiple cards at the same time? For instance, if you have all four Delta cards and you make a booking via Resy. Can you split the check on four of these cards and use your monthly credits?
You probably could.
I’ve used the companion fare every year so that alone saves me the annual fee if not more. I will keep it this year and see how it fares. 🙂
There are interesting new benefits. The Resy “benefit” does nothing for me. Amex and Delta should provide benefits that don’t exclude people with dietary needs due to health, religion, etc. Resy only has a handful of kosher restaurants and none of them are anywhere near us. It would have been better to have repeated the offer of a couple of years ago where they automatically credited $20 of meals each month.